Syrian jet bombs area near Turkish border

A SYRIAN fighter jet has bombed a rebel-held area near the Turkish border, killing at least six people and wounding a dozen others, while a rocket propelled grenade also landed inside Turkey, officials and witnesses say.

An Associated Press video journalist saw the plane bomb an area around the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn, some 10 metres from the Turkish border, on Monday. Last week the rebels overran three security compounds in the town, located in the predominantly Kurdish oil-producing northeastern province of al-Hasaka, wresting control from the regime forces.

An official at the local mayor's office said Turkish ambulances ferried 18 wounded Syrians to a hospital, across the border in the Turkish town of Ceylanpinar but six died, he added that the death toll from the attack was expected to rise.

The force of the blast from the aerial bombing shattered windows in Ceylanpinar, in southeastern Turkey, the official said. A few people were injured in Ceylanpinar, mostly from broken glass and shrapnel.

The fighting in Ras al-Ayn touched off a massive flow of refugees two days ago, and more refugees were seen coming after the blast.

Earlier, a Syrian helicopter bombed rebel positions in an area further south of Ras al-Ayn and the rebels could be heard responding with machine guns, the official said.

The violence in Syria has killed more than 36,000 people since an uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March 2011.